Simon Sinek shares “ It is the responsibility of organizations to help build great leaders.” Another great quote by Sinek is “The boss has the title, the leader has the people.”

How is that accomplished? Pursuits is here to empower organizations through knowledge, practice and coaching. We believe it is by developing human skills as well as the skills specific to each business that will insure success. Relationships are complicated and messy. There are so many common needs and challenges…why worry alone?

Often times. According to Noam Wasserman, a professor at Harvard Business School, 65% of businesses fail due to conflict and relationship breakdown between partners or teams.

Peter Arvai, CEO of Presentation Software Company Prezi said, “Long-term relationships and co-founding companies have the potential to be amazing or terrible experiences…A well-functioning relationship between [business partners] makes life (and business) more meaningful and fun.”

When relationships are strong, businesses have a much better chance at surviving the inevitable challenging times. When business relationships falter, it can result in utter collapse”

I had a client once ask…where are we supposed to learn these skills-in relationship school? And where might that be? If you were lucky to have role models and mentors who exemplified leadership, then certainly this will be that much easier.

The good news for all of us though, is that there are empirical, evidence based principles from the Gottman Institute, along with the intuitive art of engagement that can be taught and expressed. We can learn and improve our habits and skills to build relationships and organizations that thrive!

Here are 6 principles to help businesses thrive:

1.Build the two pillars of trust and commitment. How can we possibly have any relationship without trust and commitment to the people within our organizations? The vulnerability and honesty within a team directly correlates with the amount of trust it has in its leader and within its people. I have written an article previously out this as well as a podcast entitled “The Two Pillars”

2. Know your team. By understanding one another’s core values, strengths, personality types and information specific to each person, one will convey understanding and facility in building empowered teams.

3. Increase appreciation. By caring for our people, appreciation will grow and recognition and voice will be felt. Rather than the all too common “us and them”, and “me”…we can design a common connection and “we” focus.

Sharing words of encouragement and admiration, service, time and appreciation- teams can grow and flourish.

An employee of a business owner who consciously built the language of appreciation within its team, remarked “I can’t believe you took the time to understand how I prefer to be appreciated.”

Kindness and empathy go a long way in building strong, engaged relationships.

Increase turning toward and accepting bids for connection. Availability and conscious time spent with each member, whether it is in by reaching out as a solo owner or a partnership, make time for “turning toward”

4. Practice deep listening, empathy, effective communication and conflict resolution skills. Life brings its stresses and disagreements. It is so important to have great skills in place to gain mastery both one’s own emotional regulation and intelligence, but ways of increasing voice, perspective and increase in solution focused strategies.

5. Create effective goal-setting strategies and ways of celebrating achievement. It is so important to have the vision in place for where you are going, but the recognition of the goals and steps it takes to achieve it are even more important to increase sustainability and momentum.

6. Create meaning and purpose by knowing and expressing the mission and its impact on community.

With these principles practice, a business is sure to thrive. Pursuits is proud to be holding our Pursuits Leadership Forum to support emerging leaders as well as executives in organizations. Come and join us! https://pursuitscoaching.com/leadership-cohort/

Bridging the Gap: Building a Culture of Inclusion and Collaboration

93% of employees who feel valued at work said they are motivated to do their best!

Learn about and apply the 5 Principles for Building Meaningful & Positive Relationships.
Objectives:

Foundational understanding of what it means to engage authentically
Learn Principles for building meaningful relationships
Learn to speak the Languages of Appreciation
Create practice and application goals for each principle
Generate an appreciation for increased engagement and sense of value in self and others.